Mayday (2013) s18e04 Episode Script
Deadly Airspace
We're clear to Russia.
NARRATOR: A commercial airliner goes down over a war zone in Eastern Ukraine.
Nearly 300 innocent lives were taken.
So there has to be a credible international investigation.
INTERPRETER: "There was a lot of speculation "that the aircraft was shot down, but you want facts.
" Investigators are determined to get answers for the families of the 298 victims.
INTERPRETER: "It was very important to explain what had happened.
"There were so many people whose lives were destroyed by this crash.
" But they face roadblocks at every turn.
MAN: One of the first things you do is the security of the, uh, the wreckage area.
And this was not possible here.
How can we conduct an investigation without seeing the wreckage? (THEME MUSIC) (JET ENGINE ROARS) I'm looking forward to getting home and seeing the kids.
And eating a proper home-cooked meal.
Do you have any other plans for the weekend? Absolutely nothing, which sounds perfect.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 is 2.
5 hours into an 11.
5-hour trip from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
The cabin is filled to capacity, with 283 passengers onboard.
- All done? - Mmm, yeah.
Are you bringing the drink cart again soon? Of course.
What can I get you? I'll have a beer, please.
Most are Dutch tourists planning to connect to vacation spots in Australia, Thailand and Indonesia.
MAN: European travellers on holiday would have been the preponderance of the folks onboard.
Certainly there were some business people, but for the lion's share of the passengers, it was people on vacation.
MH17's scheduled flight path takes it across Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Bay of Bengal before reaching Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur.
The weather's ugly ahead.
Can we get around it? Captain Eugene Choo Jin Leong has been flying for Malaysia Airlines for 24 years.
His first officer, Muhamad Firdaus Abdul Rahim, is a promising new addition to the airline.
Dnipro, OK to track 2-0 miles left for weather? Malaysia 17, OK, clear to avoid.
Roger, Malaysian 17.
J.
F.
JOSEPH: The first officer is being groomed to become a captain, so generally speaking in a cockpit it is not unusual to have a captain with a large amount of flight experience as compared to that of the first officer.
They're piloting a Boeing 777, one of the safest planes in the world.
The 777 is also very fuel-efficient, making it a popular choice for long-haul flights like this one.
Is Malaysia five or six hours ahead? Guess I'll find out when we get there.
We could make up time if we move to 3-4-0.
If it gets us there faster, then why not? Now flying in Ukrainian airspace Malaysian 17.
Is level 3-4-0 non-standard available? .
.
the pilots request permission to climb 1,000 feet, where they can fly faster to make up time.
The skies over Ukraine are busy today.
The local controller is not able to grant the Malaysian pilot's request.
Malaysia 17, 3-4-0 is not available.
Roger.
Maintain 3-3-0.
Well, we tried.
We'll make it up over Russia.
Looks like clear sailing from here.
Though Ukraine has accused Russia of supporting armed separatists in Eastern Ukraine, both nations are still cooperating when it comes to commercial aviation.
The controllers, both on the Russian side and the Ukrainian side, were still handing traffic off to each other, so despite the threat, commerce was still in progress.
(PHONE RINGS) Point Romeo-November-Delta.
Perfect.
Thank you.
The Ukrainian controller gets word from his Russian counterpart MH17 is cleared to the next radar point.
Malaysia 17, proceed direct to Point Romeo-November-Delta.
Romeo-November-Delta, Malaysian 17.
We're clear to Russia.
The crew had just transmitted a nominal air traffic control transmission.
They were not aware of any threat at that point.
It was routine and mundane.
- Here you go.
- Thank you very much.
(MONITOR BEEPS) Malaysia 17, Dnipro radar.
Please come in.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 has fallen off radar.
Malaysia 17, Dnipro radar here.
Please come in.
The air traffic controller makes a call to report the disappearance.
(DISTANT RUMBLE) (LAUGHTER AND CHATTERING) (DEVICE BEEPS) That's yours.
Kas Beumkes is a senior Dutch investigator.
The first time that I heard about the accident was when we arrived at our holiday place in Spain.
Oh, no.
My first reaction when I saw the news was of course disbelief.
There's been an accident.
I have to go back.
I thought, "How is it possible, "a passenger aircraft ending up like this?" Fires burn in Eastern Ukraine where Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 fell from the sky.
Around the world, reaction is swift.
BARACK OBAMA: Nearly 300 innocent lives were taken - men, women, children, infants who had nothing to do with the crisis in Ukraine.
Their deaths are a outrage of unspeakable proportions.
The news hits especially hard in the Netherlands.
193 victims were Dutch.
INTERPRETER: "When I turned the news on at home, "some of the first pictures on TV were of Dutch passports "that had been found in the fields, "and that moved me quite a bit at the time.
"It became clear to me how big the disaster was.
" J.
F.
JOSEPH: It was a tragic event for the Dutch people, and certainly emotionally, I'm sure it took its toll.
The Dutch Safety Board has already mobilised an air accident team.
BARACK OBAMA: Thoughts and prayers are with these families for this terrible loss.
Evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile that was launched from an area that is controlled by Russian-backed separatists inside of Ukraine.
We also know that this Even with the immediate speculation that the aircraft was shot down, investigators have important questions to answer.
They need to understand why a passenger plane was flying over a war zone.
And, most importantly, they need to bring home as much evidence as possible for Dutch families who've lost loved ones.
INTERPRETER: "In this investigation, "it was very important to explain what had happened.
"There were so many people whose lives were destroyed by this crash.
" (PHONE RINGS) Hello? The Dutch Safety Board is located in The Hague.
They set up another office in Kiev to help Ukrainian investigators.
MAN: What's the status there? Yeah, I'm settled into the operations centre, but there's been a change.
The Dutch team soon discovers that its role will be larger than expected.
Ukraine - they've asked us to lead the investigation.
With suggestions from all sides that the downing of MH17 was intentional, they have inherited a difficult situation.
These are from the crash sites.
INTERPRETER: "There was a lot of speculation in the media "that the aircraft was shot down.
"But as an investigator, you want facts.
"Speculation clouds the mind.
" Finding answers won't be easy.
The crash has dramatically escalated tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
(GUNFIRE) Russian-backed militants and Ukrainian forces have been battling in Eastern Ukraine for four months.
MH17 crashed right in the heart of the disputed area, in the region of Donetsk.
This site looks like another farm.
They're all in the eastern part of Ukraine.
Investigators are worried about how they can conduct their work in the middle of a war zone.
Here.
That makes six crash sites.
Wreckage is scattered over a 19 square mile area.
We know one thing for sure.
This was an in-flight break-up.
GIJSBERT VOGELAAR: When we looked at the photos, we saw that they were spread out over a big area, so that meant it had been an in-flight break-up instead of a crash.
Hello.
This is the DSB.
How soon can we get to the crash sites? To find out what caused the break-up, Dutch investigators need to see the wreckage.
I'm sorry.
I don't understand.
What's impossible? They can't get access to the crash site.
They're still in a complex negotiation process with government authorities and local officials.
What'd they say? Change of plan.
We can't go.
During a normal investigation, one of the first things you do is the security of the wreckage area.
And this was not possible here.
How can we conduct an investigation without seeing the wreckage? NARRATOR: Days after the crash of MH17 in Eastern Ukraine, Dutch investigators are nowhere to be seen.
Without access to the wreckage, they risk losing crucial evidence.
INTERPRETER: "It's important "that the pieces of wreckage remain undisturbed.
"They are silent witnesses.
"Pieces of wreckage tell you what happened.
"A total picture of all the wreckage together gives you a total story.
" (RON SMITS SPEAKS DUTCH) Despite the setback, the Dutch team refuses to let any speculation about the crash affect their investigation.
Best bet? It was shot down.
Proving it without any wreckage is nearly impossible.
They may be able to disprove other theories being floated in the media - speculation that Flight MH17 may have encountered severe weather, or a technical malfunction, or some other rare calamity.
OK, let's start eliminating other possibilities and, um, we'll see what we're left with.
KAS BEUMKES: We started from from square one and we looked through all the possibilities one by one in a very structural manner.
Let's zoom into the crash area.
GIJSBERT VOGELAAR: We had to do this because we were not assured that we would evercould go there, so we thought everything we can find about this crash site, we need to gather.
OK, this is MH17's intended flight path.
Now, this is the weather at the time of the crash.
Well, what about lightning? Let's check the ATC report.
Oh, look here.
This is their intended path - right into the storm.
But they requested a deviation.
KAS BEUMKES: The crew circumnavigated the thunderstorm, which is a normal operational action.
They bypassed the storm.
It wasn't lightning.
Anything in the maintenance records? We chose to follow the normal procedures that we use in an investigation, so that means that you check the maintenance of the aircraft, if there had been repairs that perhaps could have influenced the plane on this flight.
These are some of the cleanest occurrence reports I've seen.
The technical log is the same.
This was a well-maintained aeroplane.
We didn't find any worthiness or maintenance factors that could have factored in the investigation.
They even look into the remote possibility that MH17 was hit by a meteor.
If it was brought down by a meteor, this is how we'll know - ultra noise from the day of the crash.
Ultra noise is a distinct sound wave that can be measured when a meteor decelerates as it enters the Earth's upper atmosphere.
It could happen - once every 60,000 years.
It is possible - except not this time.
There was no meteor activity that day.
At all.
Three possible causes.
No likely explanations for what brought down MH17.
Those were all excluded because of the evidence we found.
It did not match the expected evidence you would see with these kind of possible causes.
A few days later, the investigation gets a break.
Militants in Ukraine have recovered the black boxes and handed them over to Malaysian authorities.
It's a major development.
For every aviation accident, the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder are very important.
In this case they were, I would say, extremely important.
The black boxes could hold vital clues to what caused the fatal crash.
The Malaysians transfer them to the Dutch Safety Board.
The critical devices are then sent to the United Kingdom for analysis.
We could download the information from recorders here in the Netherlands, but we don't have the sophisticated instruments that they have.
A few days later, the investigation takes another turn.
Everybody ready? Clearance is finally granted to visit the crash sites.
INTERPRETER: "The moment we got permission to go to the crash site, "we worked out a plan with the goal of gathering pieces of wreckage, "carrying out some local investigative work, "and then taking the wreckage back to the Netherlands "for further investigation.
" Off we go.
But then (PHONE RINGS) .
.
yet another change of plan.
Hello.
You can't be serious.
With the bitter, ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russian-backed militants, the situation in the area of the crash is changing on a daily basis.
INTERPRETER: "Our safety couldn't be guaranteed.
" "You can't enter an area without permission, "and that goes against your nature "because you want to achieve your goal.
" Damn it! KAS BEUMKES: And the difficulty here of course was that we were in another country with a wreckage we had no access to.
That was an extra challenge, I can tell you that.
NARRATOR: In the Dutch city of Eindhoven, the first remains of Flight MH17's victims have returned home.
The pressure on the Dutch Safety Board is about to intensify.
MAN: What do we want? ALL: Justice! - What do we want? - Justice! - What do we want? - Justice! J.
F.
JOSEPH: The families that lost other family members, crew members that were aboard the aircraft, they want the answer.
They want some kind of resolution so that they can put this horrible tragic event behind them.
They want more than the mere facts.
They want something to help them put this issue to rest.
While investigators have still not seen any physical wreckage, they do now have access to the flight recorder analysis.
So not a single warning.
Everything's fine, and then itit just stops.
Unfortunately, the FDR data gives them nothing new to go on.
According to the flight data recorder data, we're looking at an aircraft that was flying straight and level.
There were no malfunctions recorded, and the aircraft systems and the engine system functioned normally until the recorder just stopped abruptly.
Investigators hope the cockpit voice recorder will provide something more.
PILOT: Romeo-November-Delta, Malaysian 17.
GIJSBERT VOGELAAR: Listening to the CVR, the recording, is not an easy thing to do because you listen to voices and you know that within minutes or seconds those people were fatally injured.
On the other hand, that's what you need to do.
That's your job.
We're clear to Russia.
Nothing after that? There were no conversations about emergencies, or failures, or any other risks that they were discussing.
It was a completely normal conversation.
So what time does it end? The exact same time the FDR cuts out.
The timing tells them that whatever happened to Flight MH17, it was extremely sudden.
J.
F.
JOSEPH: With the instantaneous and combined failure of both the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, that's indicative of loss of electrical power simultaneously, which is analogous generally with a catastrophic event.
Investigators suspect that the plane was likely brought down by either a bomb or a missile.
Wait.
Play it again.
They wonder if any clues can be uncovered through an even closer analysis.
(STATIC PEAKS) PILOT: We're clear to Russia.
You hear that? Investigators discover two sound peaks just before the recording stops.
Can you figure out where that's coming from? The cockpit has four microphones.
Investigators hope to triangulate the location of the sound by measuring when the spikes hit each microphone.
(FOUR CONSECUTIVE BEEPS) KAS BEUMKES: By triangulation of the data of this information, you can pinpoint the location of the source of the sound peak in space.
So where did the sound originate from? Let's look at the seconds before the crash.
Can you bring up the cockpit, please? Investigators now realise they're onto something big.
It hit the captain's mic first, then moved back through the cockpit.
It looks like the sound came from in front of the captain, outside of the aeroplane.
(JET ENGINE ROARS) KAS BEUMKES: It was very important because it was one clear indication that the source of the thing that happened to this aeroplane came from outside.
That seals it.
An explosion outside means it must have been shot down.
Shot down by what? We need that wreckage.
But there is one other place that we can look.
Without access to wreckage on the ground, investigators turn to forensic analysis of debris found somewhere else - inside the bodies of the cockpit crew.
The autopsy was very important, and a different source of investigation results.
They hope the gruesome task can help them identify what kind of explosive weapon took down MH17.
They find hundreds of similar-looking steel fragments lodged within the bodies.
But in the captain's body, they find something else - something that stands out.
In the body of the captain, there was a specific fragment that was unique in comparison with the other fragments we'd found.
It had a specific shape and form.
Investigators don't know what it is, but they do know from the CVR that the blast hit from the captain's side of the cockpit.
If the distinctly-shaped fragment can be matched to the weapon used in the attack, it could be a crucial clue.
GIJSBERT VOGELAAR: We were gathering more and more facts that showed that something from the outside had brought the aircraft down.
MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL: A full closure to this incident is absolutely vital.
Therefore, the ultimate action of finding who were responsible and bringing them to justice.
Despite having strong evidence pointing to a missile, in order to prove their theory, investigators will need to see the wreckage.
But so far, they still haven't been able to gain access to the crash sites.
INTERPRETER: "Regardless of all the media and political pressure, "you still have to do your job starting with the foundation - "investigate based on facts.
"All of the pressure that's put on you "to come up quickly with conclusions "you have to disregard.
" NARRATOR: Almost four months after the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 (PHONE RINGS) Smits here.
.
.
investigators finally get the break they need.
That is wonderful news.
Permission to travel to Eastern Ukraine.
Thank you.
We're a go.
We're allowed in! For real this time.
On November the 4th, Dutch investigators finally arrive at one of the wreckage sites.
Their priority is to find pieces from the front of the aircraft - the cockpit.
They hope that wreckage will tell them more about the blast they heard on the CVR.
But they have very limited time to collect evidence from this and five other sites.
Yes, DSB to base.
We have landed.
Out.
Stay away from over there.
There are land mines.
The sites are located in territory controlled by separatist forces.
The front line is less than a mile away.
(DISTANT GUNFIRE) What was that? Artillery being fired across the border.
INTERPRETER: "There was still fighting in the area.
"We heard artillery and small arms fire.
"For that reason, we also wore flak jackets.
"It was crazy, because you'd hear the noise "and it meant at that moment "people were getting wounded or worse.
" (ABELTJE TROMP SPEAKS DUTCH) Before you put anything on the truck, you show us.
Got it! Complicating matters, local soldiers are watching their every move.
Around the world, people are pointing fingers at the separatist forces.
They may not want the investigators to find anything that could incriminate them.
(RON SMITS SPEAKS DUTCH) INTERPRETER: "You're in a war zone.
"You know there's interest from the local leaders "and others you're unaware of.
"It means you don't speak freely about the work you're doing.
" You see these? Make sure this gets on the first truck.
INTERPRETER: "There were a number of pieces of wreckage "that were very important for our investigation, "and we also tried to take as much with us in the time that we had.
" Is Malaysia five or six hours ahead? Guess I'll find out when I get there.
(ABELTJE TROMP SPEAKS DUTCH) INTERPRETER: "At the crash site.
I actually didn't feel anything, "even though I really wanted to.
"We tried to do the work very respectfully "because we knew what had happened there.
" What part of the plane do you think this is? This is not part of the plane.
This is steel, not aluminium.
Put this on the truck.
INTERPRETER: "Any items we thought weren't from the aircraft "we loaded onto the truck.
"We tried to behave as normally as possible.
" What is that? I think it's from the BPU bypass exhaust port.
OK, it can go.
Then the investigators receive one last crucial piece of evidence.
INTERPRETER: "On the last afternoon "of the last day of the end of the mission, "one of the local helpers brought us the window of the cockpit.
"He found it in the village of Petrovka, "where we were not allowed to go.
" You're kidding me.
INTERPRETER: "And that was the moment I'll never forget.
"You have the biggest piece of evidence in your hands.
" INTERPRETER: "I only saw the holes "and the sadness of that piece of wreckage.
"Ron Smits saw how important it was for the investigation.
"It was a strange mix of emotions.
" NARRATOR: After months of trying, investigators have finally managed to bring pieces of wreckage from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 back to the Netherlands.
They focus on the section of the aircraft that they believe was closest to the blast.
INTERPRETER: "All of the wreckage "that was from the front of the aircraft "was analysed very precisely.
" Now, which part do we need next? They start reconstructing the cockpit.
INTERPRETER: "The goal of carrying out a reconstruction "was to show the world what had happened to the aircraft, "what was the impact.
"You can make an animation.
You can visualise it.
"But the real pieces of wreckage speak a lot more.
" (RON SMITS SPEAKS DUTCH) As the reconstruction takes shape, a startling picture emerges.
Other than where it broke up, there's no damage on this side.
OK, guys.
And around.
Yeah.
The left side of the cockpit has sustained heavy damage.
Blast deposits.
Yeah.
And you see how the metal is buckling in here near the supports.
And then the hole.
Hit by a pressure wave.
KAS BEUMKES: All those penetrations, that was a horrific sight.
You see the devastating power of the hundreds of objects that penetrated the front of the aircraft and where the in-flight break-up started.
That's overwhelming.
But it's also very good proof of what actually happened.
With the reconstruction nearly complete, investigators separate pieces of shrapnel made of steel from the aluminium shell of the aircraft.
These steel pieces have to be from the warhead.
For investigators, there is no longer any doubt.
A missile brought down MH17.
Take a look at this.
- Another piece from the missile? - Yeah, I think so.
But this looks different.
I've seen this kind of piece before.
We found in the specific fragments unique in shape and form with the bowtie or butterfly fragment, which was the same kind of fragment we found in the body of the captain.
I need to get this analysed.
OK.
Let's start stringing it.
Investigators use a technique called 'stringing' to pinpoint exactly where the missile exploded.
That's a technique with forensic investigation to give an impression where the origin of the high energy object was.
It came from 3m to the left and 3.
7m above the tip of the nose.
The stringing investigation results pointed out that the origin of the objects were from the left above the cockpit.
It matched also with the investigation results we got from the cockpit voice recorder.
The cockpit reconstruction has given investigators a much clearer picture of how Flight MH17 was blown out of the sky.
J.
F.
JOSEPH: With a fragmentation type warhead, the warhead detonates, and between 7,000 and 8,000 of these preformed, shaped fragments are dispersed against the target at very high velocity.
Each one of these fragments is specifically designed to rip through aircraft aluminium.
Investigators know that the bowtie-shaped pieces of shrapnel found in the captain's body and in the fuselage may be the key to solving the next step of the mystery.
What kind of missile did you come from? Next.
Again.
Wait, wait.
Stop.
There it is.
GIJSBERT VOGELAAR: The bowtie fragments we found were related to one certain type of warhead.
So there was no doubt about the warhead that was used in this case.
A BUK missile.
The fragments are from the warhead of a BUK surface-to-air missile system.
It's made up of hundreds of bowtie and square-shaped metal fragments that explode when the missile gets close to its target.
There's ample evidence that the Russian-backed militants have access to this type of weapon.
A separate judicial inquiry is tasked with determining if they actually fired it.
J.
F.
JOSEPH: They estimate that its probability of kill is about 95%.
The weapon actually detonates based on a proximity fuse.
As the aircraft and the target seem to merge, at that point, the weapon is geared to detonate.
(JET ENGINE ROARS) Is Malaysia five or six hours ahead? PILOT: Romeo-November-Delta, Malaysia 17.
We're clear to Russia.
These high performance missiles actually will encounter a target at speeds in excess of MACH 3.
There would certainly be no capacity or expectation for the flight crew to even know that they were being engaged by such a weapon.
Investigators turn to experts at the Netherland's National Aerospace Lab to try to pinpoint the geographic area where the missile was launched.
The plane was flying at 33,000 feet.
At Donbas, at a groundspeed of 494 knots.
By simulating the flying conditions at the time and calculating the speed and impact points of the missile, scientists are able to figure out the missile's trajectory.
So it came from this area.
They came up with an area in front of the aeroplane, about 320 square kilometres.
It was in the east part of Ukraine.
Confirming that the missile was shot from the heart of the conflict zone leaves one lingering question.
If the airspace over Ukraine was so dangerous, why was Malaysia Airlines flying there in the first place? Yeah? NARRATOR: Now that they know Flight MH17 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, investigators look into why Malaysia Airlines was flying through a conflict zone in the first place.
Security service report? Skip to page 24.
The investigators work with the Dutch Intelligence Service to come up with a detailed picture of Ukrainian airspace leading up to the crash.
This is unbelievable.
They learn that three days before the MH17 disaster, separatists shot down a Ukrainian military cargo plane.
If Ukraine knew that planes were being shot down, why didn't they close the airspace? Good question.
Searching for an answer, investigators request a list of NOTAMs - Notices to Airmen - from Ukrainian air traffic control.
The area over Crimea was closed.
So why not Donetsk? A NOTAM is issued to let the aviation industry know if any airspace is restricted.
There were two NOTAMs for that area.
On July 1st, they closed it below 26,000 feet.
And on July 14th, they raised that restriction to 32,000 feet.
In other words, Ukrainian authorities were responding to the threat by restricting flights at increasingly higher altitudes.
But, crucially, they never closed the airspace completely.
J.
F.
JOSEPH: Airlines that undergo flight operations in contested airspace are looking at the threat assessment.
They're being advised what the threats are, and they expect some level of predictability.
Who else was flying that day? You're not gonna believe this.
All these airlines flew over Ukraine that week? No - that day.
They all flew over that exact area before MH17 was shot down.
On July the 17th, the day MH17 was hit by a missile, 160 flights crossed through the exact same airspace.
Despite previous attacks on military aircraft, no commercial airlines had opted to avoid the area.
Dnipro, OK to track 2-0 miles left for weather? Malaysia 17, OK, clear to avoid.
Roger.
Malaysia 17.
J.
F.
JOSEPH: Malaysian Airlines was not doing anything different than 160 other flights that had transgressed that airspace the same day.
They were not the lone ranger in that airspace.
It just so happened to be that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Only military planes had been shot down, and all them were flying a lot lower than 32,000 feet.
So everyone thought commercial planes above that would be safe.
Exactly.
GIJSBERT VOGELAAR: The aircraft was flying over a conflict zone like all other airlines were doing, more or less all of them, because they expected it to be safe to fly there.
In its final report, the Dutch Safety Board calls on airlines to improve their risk assessment capabilities so they can better understand the dangers posed by military threats.
They also suggest airlines regularly publish flight paths so consumers can make much more informed decisions about flying over conflict zones.
Preventing aircraft from flying in unsafe airspace is a difficult thing to do.
The only possibility is sharing all available information worldwide between all the states involved.
15 months after 298 people were killed, the Dutch Safety Board invites families of the victims to see the reconstructed MH17 cockpit.
MAN: It was a BUK missile, and they showed us the fragments.
Uh, the fragments were inside the plane, and also the crew.
It's a difficult moment for family members, but investigators hope it can provide them with some closure.
WOMAN: We have seen a lot of information in the media, and that what we thought might be the truth has been confirmed.
As the accident report is published, a criminal investigation into who was responsible for the deadly attack remains unresolved.
KAS BEUMKES: I was proud that I could take my part in such an important investigation for the Dutch community, and especially for the families of the victims, and to provide answers to aviation safety, that we can prevent this in the future.
NARRATOR: A commercial airliner goes down over a war zone in Eastern Ukraine.
Nearly 300 innocent lives were taken.
So there has to be a credible international investigation.
INTERPRETER: "There was a lot of speculation "that the aircraft was shot down, but you want facts.
" Investigators are determined to get answers for the families of the 298 victims.
INTERPRETER: "It was very important to explain what had happened.
"There were so many people whose lives were destroyed by this crash.
" But they face roadblocks at every turn.
MAN: One of the first things you do is the security of the, uh, the wreckage area.
And this was not possible here.
How can we conduct an investigation without seeing the wreckage? (THEME MUSIC) (JET ENGINE ROARS) I'm looking forward to getting home and seeing the kids.
And eating a proper home-cooked meal.
Do you have any other plans for the weekend? Absolutely nothing, which sounds perfect.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 is 2.
5 hours into an 11.
5-hour trip from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
The cabin is filled to capacity, with 283 passengers onboard.
- All done? - Mmm, yeah.
Are you bringing the drink cart again soon? Of course.
What can I get you? I'll have a beer, please.
Most are Dutch tourists planning to connect to vacation spots in Australia, Thailand and Indonesia.
MAN: European travellers on holiday would have been the preponderance of the folks onboard.
Certainly there were some business people, but for the lion's share of the passengers, it was people on vacation.
MH17's scheduled flight path takes it across Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Bay of Bengal before reaching Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur.
The weather's ugly ahead.
Can we get around it? Captain Eugene Choo Jin Leong has been flying for Malaysia Airlines for 24 years.
His first officer, Muhamad Firdaus Abdul Rahim, is a promising new addition to the airline.
Dnipro, OK to track 2-0 miles left for weather? Malaysia 17, OK, clear to avoid.
Roger, Malaysian 17.
J.
F.
JOSEPH: The first officer is being groomed to become a captain, so generally speaking in a cockpit it is not unusual to have a captain with a large amount of flight experience as compared to that of the first officer.
They're piloting a Boeing 777, one of the safest planes in the world.
The 777 is also very fuel-efficient, making it a popular choice for long-haul flights like this one.
Is Malaysia five or six hours ahead? Guess I'll find out when we get there.
We could make up time if we move to 3-4-0.
If it gets us there faster, then why not? Now flying in Ukrainian airspace Malaysian 17.
Is level 3-4-0 non-standard available? .
.
the pilots request permission to climb 1,000 feet, where they can fly faster to make up time.
The skies over Ukraine are busy today.
The local controller is not able to grant the Malaysian pilot's request.
Malaysia 17, 3-4-0 is not available.
Roger.
Maintain 3-3-0.
Well, we tried.
We'll make it up over Russia.
Looks like clear sailing from here.
Though Ukraine has accused Russia of supporting armed separatists in Eastern Ukraine, both nations are still cooperating when it comes to commercial aviation.
The controllers, both on the Russian side and the Ukrainian side, were still handing traffic off to each other, so despite the threat, commerce was still in progress.
(PHONE RINGS) Point Romeo-November-Delta.
Perfect.
Thank you.
The Ukrainian controller gets word from his Russian counterpart MH17 is cleared to the next radar point.
Malaysia 17, proceed direct to Point Romeo-November-Delta.
Romeo-November-Delta, Malaysian 17.
We're clear to Russia.
The crew had just transmitted a nominal air traffic control transmission.
They were not aware of any threat at that point.
It was routine and mundane.
- Here you go.
- Thank you very much.
(MONITOR BEEPS) Malaysia 17, Dnipro radar.
Please come in.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 has fallen off radar.
Malaysia 17, Dnipro radar here.
Please come in.
The air traffic controller makes a call to report the disappearance.
(DISTANT RUMBLE) (LAUGHTER AND CHATTERING) (DEVICE BEEPS) That's yours.
Kas Beumkes is a senior Dutch investigator.
The first time that I heard about the accident was when we arrived at our holiday place in Spain.
Oh, no.
My first reaction when I saw the news was of course disbelief.
There's been an accident.
I have to go back.
I thought, "How is it possible, "a passenger aircraft ending up like this?" Fires burn in Eastern Ukraine where Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 fell from the sky.
Around the world, reaction is swift.
BARACK OBAMA: Nearly 300 innocent lives were taken - men, women, children, infants who had nothing to do with the crisis in Ukraine.
Their deaths are a outrage of unspeakable proportions.
The news hits especially hard in the Netherlands.
193 victims were Dutch.
INTERPRETER: "When I turned the news on at home, "some of the first pictures on TV were of Dutch passports "that had been found in the fields, "and that moved me quite a bit at the time.
"It became clear to me how big the disaster was.
" J.
F.
JOSEPH: It was a tragic event for the Dutch people, and certainly emotionally, I'm sure it took its toll.
The Dutch Safety Board has already mobilised an air accident team.
BARACK OBAMA: Thoughts and prayers are with these families for this terrible loss.
Evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile that was launched from an area that is controlled by Russian-backed separatists inside of Ukraine.
We also know that this Even with the immediate speculation that the aircraft was shot down, investigators have important questions to answer.
They need to understand why a passenger plane was flying over a war zone.
And, most importantly, they need to bring home as much evidence as possible for Dutch families who've lost loved ones.
INTERPRETER: "In this investigation, "it was very important to explain what had happened.
"There were so many people whose lives were destroyed by this crash.
" (PHONE RINGS) Hello? The Dutch Safety Board is located in The Hague.
They set up another office in Kiev to help Ukrainian investigators.
MAN: What's the status there? Yeah, I'm settled into the operations centre, but there's been a change.
The Dutch team soon discovers that its role will be larger than expected.
Ukraine - they've asked us to lead the investigation.
With suggestions from all sides that the downing of MH17 was intentional, they have inherited a difficult situation.
These are from the crash sites.
INTERPRETER: "There was a lot of speculation in the media "that the aircraft was shot down.
"But as an investigator, you want facts.
"Speculation clouds the mind.
" Finding answers won't be easy.
The crash has dramatically escalated tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
(GUNFIRE) Russian-backed militants and Ukrainian forces have been battling in Eastern Ukraine for four months.
MH17 crashed right in the heart of the disputed area, in the region of Donetsk.
This site looks like another farm.
They're all in the eastern part of Ukraine.
Investigators are worried about how they can conduct their work in the middle of a war zone.
Here.
That makes six crash sites.
Wreckage is scattered over a 19 square mile area.
We know one thing for sure.
This was an in-flight break-up.
GIJSBERT VOGELAAR: When we looked at the photos, we saw that they were spread out over a big area, so that meant it had been an in-flight break-up instead of a crash.
Hello.
This is the DSB.
How soon can we get to the crash sites? To find out what caused the break-up, Dutch investigators need to see the wreckage.
I'm sorry.
I don't understand.
What's impossible? They can't get access to the crash site.
They're still in a complex negotiation process with government authorities and local officials.
What'd they say? Change of plan.
We can't go.
During a normal investigation, one of the first things you do is the security of the wreckage area.
And this was not possible here.
How can we conduct an investigation without seeing the wreckage? NARRATOR: Days after the crash of MH17 in Eastern Ukraine, Dutch investigators are nowhere to be seen.
Without access to the wreckage, they risk losing crucial evidence.
INTERPRETER: "It's important "that the pieces of wreckage remain undisturbed.
"They are silent witnesses.
"Pieces of wreckage tell you what happened.
"A total picture of all the wreckage together gives you a total story.
" (RON SMITS SPEAKS DUTCH) Despite the setback, the Dutch team refuses to let any speculation about the crash affect their investigation.
Best bet? It was shot down.
Proving it without any wreckage is nearly impossible.
They may be able to disprove other theories being floated in the media - speculation that Flight MH17 may have encountered severe weather, or a technical malfunction, or some other rare calamity.
OK, let's start eliminating other possibilities and, um, we'll see what we're left with.
KAS BEUMKES: We started from from square one and we looked through all the possibilities one by one in a very structural manner.
Let's zoom into the crash area.
GIJSBERT VOGELAAR: We had to do this because we were not assured that we would evercould go there, so we thought everything we can find about this crash site, we need to gather.
OK, this is MH17's intended flight path.
Now, this is the weather at the time of the crash.
Well, what about lightning? Let's check the ATC report.
Oh, look here.
This is their intended path - right into the storm.
But they requested a deviation.
KAS BEUMKES: The crew circumnavigated the thunderstorm, which is a normal operational action.
They bypassed the storm.
It wasn't lightning.
Anything in the maintenance records? We chose to follow the normal procedures that we use in an investigation, so that means that you check the maintenance of the aircraft, if there had been repairs that perhaps could have influenced the plane on this flight.
These are some of the cleanest occurrence reports I've seen.
The technical log is the same.
This was a well-maintained aeroplane.
We didn't find any worthiness or maintenance factors that could have factored in the investigation.
They even look into the remote possibility that MH17 was hit by a meteor.
If it was brought down by a meteor, this is how we'll know - ultra noise from the day of the crash.
Ultra noise is a distinct sound wave that can be measured when a meteor decelerates as it enters the Earth's upper atmosphere.
It could happen - once every 60,000 years.
It is possible - except not this time.
There was no meteor activity that day.
At all.
Three possible causes.
No likely explanations for what brought down MH17.
Those were all excluded because of the evidence we found.
It did not match the expected evidence you would see with these kind of possible causes.
A few days later, the investigation gets a break.
Militants in Ukraine have recovered the black boxes and handed them over to Malaysian authorities.
It's a major development.
For every aviation accident, the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder are very important.
In this case they were, I would say, extremely important.
The black boxes could hold vital clues to what caused the fatal crash.
The Malaysians transfer them to the Dutch Safety Board.
The critical devices are then sent to the United Kingdom for analysis.
We could download the information from recorders here in the Netherlands, but we don't have the sophisticated instruments that they have.
A few days later, the investigation takes another turn.
Everybody ready? Clearance is finally granted to visit the crash sites.
INTERPRETER: "The moment we got permission to go to the crash site, "we worked out a plan with the goal of gathering pieces of wreckage, "carrying out some local investigative work, "and then taking the wreckage back to the Netherlands "for further investigation.
" Off we go.
But then (PHONE RINGS) .
.
yet another change of plan.
Hello.
You can't be serious.
With the bitter, ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russian-backed militants, the situation in the area of the crash is changing on a daily basis.
INTERPRETER: "Our safety couldn't be guaranteed.
" "You can't enter an area without permission, "and that goes against your nature "because you want to achieve your goal.
" Damn it! KAS BEUMKES: And the difficulty here of course was that we were in another country with a wreckage we had no access to.
That was an extra challenge, I can tell you that.
NARRATOR: In the Dutch city of Eindhoven, the first remains of Flight MH17's victims have returned home.
The pressure on the Dutch Safety Board is about to intensify.
MAN: What do we want? ALL: Justice! - What do we want? - Justice! - What do we want? - Justice! J.
F.
JOSEPH: The families that lost other family members, crew members that were aboard the aircraft, they want the answer.
They want some kind of resolution so that they can put this horrible tragic event behind them.
They want more than the mere facts.
They want something to help them put this issue to rest.
While investigators have still not seen any physical wreckage, they do now have access to the flight recorder analysis.
So not a single warning.
Everything's fine, and then itit just stops.
Unfortunately, the FDR data gives them nothing new to go on.
According to the flight data recorder data, we're looking at an aircraft that was flying straight and level.
There were no malfunctions recorded, and the aircraft systems and the engine system functioned normally until the recorder just stopped abruptly.
Investigators hope the cockpit voice recorder will provide something more.
PILOT: Romeo-November-Delta, Malaysian 17.
GIJSBERT VOGELAAR: Listening to the CVR, the recording, is not an easy thing to do because you listen to voices and you know that within minutes or seconds those people were fatally injured.
On the other hand, that's what you need to do.
That's your job.
We're clear to Russia.
Nothing after that? There were no conversations about emergencies, or failures, or any other risks that they were discussing.
It was a completely normal conversation.
So what time does it end? The exact same time the FDR cuts out.
The timing tells them that whatever happened to Flight MH17, it was extremely sudden.
J.
F.
JOSEPH: With the instantaneous and combined failure of both the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, that's indicative of loss of electrical power simultaneously, which is analogous generally with a catastrophic event.
Investigators suspect that the plane was likely brought down by either a bomb or a missile.
Wait.
Play it again.
They wonder if any clues can be uncovered through an even closer analysis.
(STATIC PEAKS) PILOT: We're clear to Russia.
You hear that? Investigators discover two sound peaks just before the recording stops.
Can you figure out where that's coming from? The cockpit has four microphones.
Investigators hope to triangulate the location of the sound by measuring when the spikes hit each microphone.
(FOUR CONSECUTIVE BEEPS) KAS BEUMKES: By triangulation of the data of this information, you can pinpoint the location of the source of the sound peak in space.
So where did the sound originate from? Let's look at the seconds before the crash.
Can you bring up the cockpit, please? Investigators now realise they're onto something big.
It hit the captain's mic first, then moved back through the cockpit.
It looks like the sound came from in front of the captain, outside of the aeroplane.
(JET ENGINE ROARS) KAS BEUMKES: It was very important because it was one clear indication that the source of the thing that happened to this aeroplane came from outside.
That seals it.
An explosion outside means it must have been shot down.
Shot down by what? We need that wreckage.
But there is one other place that we can look.
Without access to wreckage on the ground, investigators turn to forensic analysis of debris found somewhere else - inside the bodies of the cockpit crew.
The autopsy was very important, and a different source of investigation results.
They hope the gruesome task can help them identify what kind of explosive weapon took down MH17.
They find hundreds of similar-looking steel fragments lodged within the bodies.
But in the captain's body, they find something else - something that stands out.
In the body of the captain, there was a specific fragment that was unique in comparison with the other fragments we'd found.
It had a specific shape and form.
Investigators don't know what it is, but they do know from the CVR that the blast hit from the captain's side of the cockpit.
If the distinctly-shaped fragment can be matched to the weapon used in the attack, it could be a crucial clue.
GIJSBERT VOGELAAR: We were gathering more and more facts that showed that something from the outside had brought the aircraft down.
MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL: A full closure to this incident is absolutely vital.
Therefore, the ultimate action of finding who were responsible and bringing them to justice.
Despite having strong evidence pointing to a missile, in order to prove their theory, investigators will need to see the wreckage.
But so far, they still haven't been able to gain access to the crash sites.
INTERPRETER: "Regardless of all the media and political pressure, "you still have to do your job starting with the foundation - "investigate based on facts.
"All of the pressure that's put on you "to come up quickly with conclusions "you have to disregard.
" NARRATOR: Almost four months after the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 (PHONE RINGS) Smits here.
.
.
investigators finally get the break they need.
That is wonderful news.
Permission to travel to Eastern Ukraine.
Thank you.
We're a go.
We're allowed in! For real this time.
On November the 4th, Dutch investigators finally arrive at one of the wreckage sites.
Their priority is to find pieces from the front of the aircraft - the cockpit.
They hope that wreckage will tell them more about the blast they heard on the CVR.
But they have very limited time to collect evidence from this and five other sites.
Yes, DSB to base.
We have landed.
Out.
Stay away from over there.
There are land mines.
The sites are located in territory controlled by separatist forces.
The front line is less than a mile away.
(DISTANT GUNFIRE) What was that? Artillery being fired across the border.
INTERPRETER: "There was still fighting in the area.
"We heard artillery and small arms fire.
"For that reason, we also wore flak jackets.
"It was crazy, because you'd hear the noise "and it meant at that moment "people were getting wounded or worse.
" (ABELTJE TROMP SPEAKS DUTCH) Before you put anything on the truck, you show us.
Got it! Complicating matters, local soldiers are watching their every move.
Around the world, people are pointing fingers at the separatist forces.
They may not want the investigators to find anything that could incriminate them.
(RON SMITS SPEAKS DUTCH) INTERPRETER: "You're in a war zone.
"You know there's interest from the local leaders "and others you're unaware of.
"It means you don't speak freely about the work you're doing.
" You see these? Make sure this gets on the first truck.
INTERPRETER: "There were a number of pieces of wreckage "that were very important for our investigation, "and we also tried to take as much with us in the time that we had.
" Is Malaysia five or six hours ahead? Guess I'll find out when I get there.
(ABELTJE TROMP SPEAKS DUTCH) INTERPRETER: "At the crash site.
I actually didn't feel anything, "even though I really wanted to.
"We tried to do the work very respectfully "because we knew what had happened there.
" What part of the plane do you think this is? This is not part of the plane.
This is steel, not aluminium.
Put this on the truck.
INTERPRETER: "Any items we thought weren't from the aircraft "we loaded onto the truck.
"We tried to behave as normally as possible.
" What is that? I think it's from the BPU bypass exhaust port.
OK, it can go.
Then the investigators receive one last crucial piece of evidence.
INTERPRETER: "On the last afternoon "of the last day of the end of the mission, "one of the local helpers brought us the window of the cockpit.
"He found it in the village of Petrovka, "where we were not allowed to go.
" You're kidding me.
INTERPRETER: "And that was the moment I'll never forget.
"You have the biggest piece of evidence in your hands.
" INTERPRETER: "I only saw the holes "and the sadness of that piece of wreckage.
"Ron Smits saw how important it was for the investigation.
"It was a strange mix of emotions.
" NARRATOR: After months of trying, investigators have finally managed to bring pieces of wreckage from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 back to the Netherlands.
They focus on the section of the aircraft that they believe was closest to the blast.
INTERPRETER: "All of the wreckage "that was from the front of the aircraft "was analysed very precisely.
" Now, which part do we need next? They start reconstructing the cockpit.
INTERPRETER: "The goal of carrying out a reconstruction "was to show the world what had happened to the aircraft, "what was the impact.
"You can make an animation.
You can visualise it.
"But the real pieces of wreckage speak a lot more.
" (RON SMITS SPEAKS DUTCH) As the reconstruction takes shape, a startling picture emerges.
Other than where it broke up, there's no damage on this side.
OK, guys.
And around.
Yeah.
The left side of the cockpit has sustained heavy damage.
Blast deposits.
Yeah.
And you see how the metal is buckling in here near the supports.
And then the hole.
Hit by a pressure wave.
KAS BEUMKES: All those penetrations, that was a horrific sight.
You see the devastating power of the hundreds of objects that penetrated the front of the aircraft and where the in-flight break-up started.
That's overwhelming.
But it's also very good proof of what actually happened.
With the reconstruction nearly complete, investigators separate pieces of shrapnel made of steel from the aluminium shell of the aircraft.
These steel pieces have to be from the warhead.
For investigators, there is no longer any doubt.
A missile brought down MH17.
Take a look at this.
- Another piece from the missile? - Yeah, I think so.
But this looks different.
I've seen this kind of piece before.
We found in the specific fragments unique in shape and form with the bowtie or butterfly fragment, which was the same kind of fragment we found in the body of the captain.
I need to get this analysed.
OK.
Let's start stringing it.
Investigators use a technique called 'stringing' to pinpoint exactly where the missile exploded.
That's a technique with forensic investigation to give an impression where the origin of the high energy object was.
It came from 3m to the left and 3.
7m above the tip of the nose.
The stringing investigation results pointed out that the origin of the objects were from the left above the cockpit.
It matched also with the investigation results we got from the cockpit voice recorder.
The cockpit reconstruction has given investigators a much clearer picture of how Flight MH17 was blown out of the sky.
J.
F.
JOSEPH: With a fragmentation type warhead, the warhead detonates, and between 7,000 and 8,000 of these preformed, shaped fragments are dispersed against the target at very high velocity.
Each one of these fragments is specifically designed to rip through aircraft aluminium.
Investigators know that the bowtie-shaped pieces of shrapnel found in the captain's body and in the fuselage may be the key to solving the next step of the mystery.
What kind of missile did you come from? Next.
Again.
Wait, wait.
Stop.
There it is.
GIJSBERT VOGELAAR: The bowtie fragments we found were related to one certain type of warhead.
So there was no doubt about the warhead that was used in this case.
A BUK missile.
The fragments are from the warhead of a BUK surface-to-air missile system.
It's made up of hundreds of bowtie and square-shaped metal fragments that explode when the missile gets close to its target.
There's ample evidence that the Russian-backed militants have access to this type of weapon.
A separate judicial inquiry is tasked with determining if they actually fired it.
J.
F.
JOSEPH: They estimate that its probability of kill is about 95%.
The weapon actually detonates based on a proximity fuse.
As the aircraft and the target seem to merge, at that point, the weapon is geared to detonate.
(JET ENGINE ROARS) Is Malaysia five or six hours ahead? PILOT: Romeo-November-Delta, Malaysia 17.
We're clear to Russia.
These high performance missiles actually will encounter a target at speeds in excess of MACH 3.
There would certainly be no capacity or expectation for the flight crew to even know that they were being engaged by such a weapon.
Investigators turn to experts at the Netherland's National Aerospace Lab to try to pinpoint the geographic area where the missile was launched.
The plane was flying at 33,000 feet.
At Donbas, at a groundspeed of 494 knots.
By simulating the flying conditions at the time and calculating the speed and impact points of the missile, scientists are able to figure out the missile's trajectory.
So it came from this area.
They came up with an area in front of the aeroplane, about 320 square kilometres.
It was in the east part of Ukraine.
Confirming that the missile was shot from the heart of the conflict zone leaves one lingering question.
If the airspace over Ukraine was so dangerous, why was Malaysia Airlines flying there in the first place? Yeah? NARRATOR: Now that they know Flight MH17 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, investigators look into why Malaysia Airlines was flying through a conflict zone in the first place.
Security service report? Skip to page 24.
The investigators work with the Dutch Intelligence Service to come up with a detailed picture of Ukrainian airspace leading up to the crash.
This is unbelievable.
They learn that three days before the MH17 disaster, separatists shot down a Ukrainian military cargo plane.
If Ukraine knew that planes were being shot down, why didn't they close the airspace? Good question.
Searching for an answer, investigators request a list of NOTAMs - Notices to Airmen - from Ukrainian air traffic control.
The area over Crimea was closed.
So why not Donetsk? A NOTAM is issued to let the aviation industry know if any airspace is restricted.
There were two NOTAMs for that area.
On July 1st, they closed it below 26,000 feet.
And on July 14th, they raised that restriction to 32,000 feet.
In other words, Ukrainian authorities were responding to the threat by restricting flights at increasingly higher altitudes.
But, crucially, they never closed the airspace completely.
J.
F.
JOSEPH: Airlines that undergo flight operations in contested airspace are looking at the threat assessment.
They're being advised what the threats are, and they expect some level of predictability.
Who else was flying that day? You're not gonna believe this.
All these airlines flew over Ukraine that week? No - that day.
They all flew over that exact area before MH17 was shot down.
On July the 17th, the day MH17 was hit by a missile, 160 flights crossed through the exact same airspace.
Despite previous attacks on military aircraft, no commercial airlines had opted to avoid the area.
Dnipro, OK to track 2-0 miles left for weather? Malaysia 17, OK, clear to avoid.
Roger.
Malaysia 17.
J.
F.
JOSEPH: Malaysian Airlines was not doing anything different than 160 other flights that had transgressed that airspace the same day.
They were not the lone ranger in that airspace.
It just so happened to be that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Only military planes had been shot down, and all them were flying a lot lower than 32,000 feet.
So everyone thought commercial planes above that would be safe.
Exactly.
GIJSBERT VOGELAAR: The aircraft was flying over a conflict zone like all other airlines were doing, more or less all of them, because they expected it to be safe to fly there.
In its final report, the Dutch Safety Board calls on airlines to improve their risk assessment capabilities so they can better understand the dangers posed by military threats.
They also suggest airlines regularly publish flight paths so consumers can make much more informed decisions about flying over conflict zones.
Preventing aircraft from flying in unsafe airspace is a difficult thing to do.
The only possibility is sharing all available information worldwide between all the states involved.
15 months after 298 people were killed, the Dutch Safety Board invites families of the victims to see the reconstructed MH17 cockpit.
MAN: It was a BUK missile, and they showed us the fragments.
Uh, the fragments were inside the plane, and also the crew.
It's a difficult moment for family members, but investigators hope it can provide them with some closure.
WOMAN: We have seen a lot of information in the media, and that what we thought might be the truth has been confirmed.
As the accident report is published, a criminal investigation into who was responsible for the deadly attack remains unresolved.
KAS BEUMKES: I was proud that I could take my part in such an important investigation for the Dutch community, and especially for the families of the victims, and to provide answers to aviation safety, that we can prevent this in the future.